Oilers News

Murray named Oilers nominee for Masterton Trophy

The Edmonton chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) has named Oilers centre Rem Murray as the Edmonton nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

The Masterton Trophy, awarded since the 1967-68 season, is given annually to the player "who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey". The PHWA chapters from all 30 NHL teams nominate one player from the team they cover and the winner of the award is selected by a poll among the 30 chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season schedule.

After beginning the 2005-06 season with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League, Murray returned to the National Hockey League on March 5th when he signed as a free agent with the Oilers. He has scored one assist with two penalty minutes in eight games with Edmonton. His assist came on Steve Staios game-winning goal at Vancouver on March 25th.

Murrays return to the Oilers was his first NHL action since the 2003-04 season. During that season, the 33-year-old native of Stratford, Ontario played 39 games with the Nashville Predators before being sidelined for the final 43 games of the season and the entire 2004-05 campaign due to cervical dystonia, a nerve disorder in the neck.

Murray made his return to the professional ranks this season with Houston of the AHL. He scored 11-24-35 with 8 PIM in 54 games and was an assistant captain with the Aeros before being signed by the Oilers.

Murray has scored 93-121-214 with 161 PIM in 559 career games during a nine-year NHL career with Edmonton, the New York Rangers and Nashville between 1996-97 and 2005-06. He is currently in his second stint with the Oilers, having made his NHL debut with Edmonton in 1996-97. He scored 72-90-162 with 121 PIM in 416 games for the Oilers from 1996-97 to 2001-02.